Monday, March 10, 2014

Tragic Death of Francois Vatel

The story of Francois Vatel is, said to be, a display of French
honor for their culinary careers. Efficiency and perfection is the standard for
hard work. It began as a grand feast to impress the nobles and King Louis XIV
himself in 1672 in a town of Chantilly. Francois Vatel served as the maître
d’hôtel for the auspicious visit. However, with some minor problems and
misunderstanding that unfolded during the festivities, the event turned out to
be final for Vatel.

Before the Chantilly event, Vatel
was renowned for his previous management of an event in Vaux-le-Vicomte. In
1661, he served under Nicholas Fouquet, the Finance Minister of Louis XIV.
Fouquet wanted to impress the King of France, Louis XIV, in order to gain more
favor from him. So for 2 days, the Sun King stayed in Vaux-le-Vicomte. Much to
Fouquet’s delight, the King envied the party very much. However, the party also
received disgust because of its exaggerated display of wealth and extravagance.
To make matters worse, although the King envied the party, he was also among
those who were ashamed of the opulence displayed. Louis XIV ordered the arrest
of his Finance Minister. Vatel, fearing the same fate, disappeared and only
reappeared in 1672 and served under Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, in 1672.

Prince de Conde wanted also to impress
the King. So he planned three days of feast in his Chateau of Chantilly. For
this event, he placed in charge in the planning of the event to his attendant,
Jean-Herault de Gourville, and his maître d’hôtel, Francois Vatel. Much of the
following event during the feast, and what happened to Vatel, came from de
Gourville and mostly much of it from Madam de Sevigne, whose letters became
famous for their elaborateness and turned icon in French literary world.

The problem, however, is that Madam
de Sevigne was not present on the event. She wrote the narration of events based
on gossips and hear-says of those who attended it. Nevertheless, many
still used the account of Madam de Sevigne because it was the only source of the
tragic incident.

According to the account, the event began in the night of
April 23, 1672, Thursday. The event, like Vatel’s previous, was grandiose and
pleasant. The whole chateau became a paradise fit for royalty. There were
expensive Chinese porcelains with flowers in the garden, dazzling fountains
made of marble and gold, wonderful music courtesy of the best musicians of
France, and for a grand entertainment, an expensive fireworks display in the
night. Vatel, on the other hand, was very much stressed during the happenings.
He had not slept for twelve nights before the event as many said. He meticulous
to every detail. However, sometimes the unexpected happens. His pressure even
made worst by the overwhelming number of guests that arrived. The unexpected
number of guest led to two tables not having an intricate centerpiece during
dinner. Yet Vatel’s boss, Prince de Conde, still congratulated him for the
success of the event even with the minor setbacks. But even with the
congratulation of his boss, Vatel was heard saying, “I have lost my honor and I
will not tolerate this outrage.” His pride was damaged.

The
next day, April 24, Vatel’s strain became worst. It was Friday and in pious
Catholic France, this meant that it was a day with no meat allowed. Every dish
that will be served should be made of seafood. For the preparation of
breakfast, in 4:00 of the early morning, Vatel waited for a delivery of seafood
from many seaside ports of France. One delivery cart arrived with two small
loads of seafood. The crate of seafood was not enough to feed the guest. Vatel
in his dismay asked if there were more loads coming. The deliverer, assuming
the seafood only coming from his port, answered no. His answer shocked Vatel to
his core.

According
to Gourville, after the delivery, Vatel said that he will not survive this
folly and that his honor was at stake. Vatel waited for few hours,
probably contemplating on the situation, then retreated to his room. By 8am,
while Vatel was in his room, wagons of seafood arrived. One attendant then went
to Vatel’s room to inform him of the new arrival. To the shock and awe of the
attendant, after opening the door of the room, Francois Vatel drowns within the
pool of his own blood. With several stabbed wombs pierced his body. It turned
out that Vatel placed his sword on the door of his room and plunged himself
towards it repeatedly, attempting to end his life and prevent anymore disgrace
in his name. It was until the third attempt that finally his own sword stabbed
his heart, immediately causing his death.

The death surprised and
disturbed many, including the King. Louis XIV, saddened by Vatel’s death,
ordered that from that day on during the event, only two tables were going to
be used. Moreover, any feast of the King would only be the burden of the King.
The story of Francois Vatel, however tragic, was said to display the
dedication, seriousness, and perfection that the French showed to their
culinary career.